Arcade type games of every variety and kind are becoming increasingly popular toady, and more and more places are utilizing these games to attract customers, particularly kids and young adults. Bowling alleys, pizza parlors, shopping areas, and arcades incorporate these games of skill and chance as a revenue stream and as a way of bring new customers into such establishments. Arcade games are popular with children of all ages, and they allow participants to play a game for the joy of establishing high scores, win prizes, and compete against other players. The present inventor is named on many such arcade machines, having invented a plethora of various style games including those involving cranes and pick-up devices.
The present invention is a reversal on the crane game made so popular in arcades and stores across the country. In a crane game, a collection of prizes is arranged on the floor of a housing, and the player manipulates a crane in an attempt to capture and pick up a prize for collection. If the prize is successfully captured, the player gets to keep the prize. However, there are often issues with both the pick-up mechanism, be it mechanical or vacuum, and the types of prizes that can be successfully picked up by such devices. For example, plush toys were the most predominant type of toy that was used with mechanical crane games because they were able to be captured by mechanical pick-up devices. Conversely, vacuum type crane games cannot easily pick up plush toys, so other types of prizes were needed for these types of games. The present invention eliminates the disparity between the types of pick up devices by providing a new variation on the familiar arcade game.